


Good Future

by Pleasebrushyourteeth



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Character Death, Gen, Physical Disability
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2018-11-28 21:00:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11426097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pleasebrushyourteeth/pseuds/Pleasebrushyourteeth
Summary: All his life, Sonic the Hedgehog had been running. Maybe, however, he'd run too fast and left his life behind. A look at where Sonic and the gang ended up 25 years later.





	1. Old

Life had always been agonizingly slow. He used to hate it when he was younger. Hated how everyone else accepted the tedium of island life, how it seemed he was the only one who dared to dream of big adventure in faraway lands. Now that he was older, however, he was more willing to accept the slowness of life, to appreciate the gentle swaying of the wind and the lackadaisical movement of dragonflies.  

Wait a minute, he thought. I'm still young: 40 is still considered a prime age, right? Sonic shook his head as he adjusted in the hammock and took another sip from his cocktail. 40 wasn't old! He had plenty of time before he was officially elderly. With that matter settled, Sonic lethargically began to take into account where he was and what he was doing. The sun, which had been higher in the sky before he succumbed to sleep, was now setting, a kaleidoscope of colors emitting from the horizon. That means Tails should be back, he thought: the fox said he'd be back by sunset. As Sonic rose to return to the workshop he and Tails called home, a bitter but familiar pain stung his left leg. It was of course the same injury he'd gotten in the last big fight with Eggman, the one that forced him to hobble around with a cane like an old man.

Stop using that word, Sonic thought again. You're not old.

He took another sip from his drink, then sighed. He wasn't old, but that's how he felt sometimes. Yesterday, he had started his daily morning walk through the jungles of the Mystic Ruins, and a little ways down the path he tripped and fell. Luckily Tails was around to see what happened, because there was no way that Sonic the Hedgehog, as middle-aged as he might be, was going to cry for help.

Tails may be better known for his engineering talents, but he was also a pretty good doctor. After determining that his big brother was not in need of hospital care, the fox prescribed him some over-the-counter pain medication and sent him to his room to rest. That's all I ever do, Sonic thought as he ascended the slight slant of the hill that the workshop rested on. Sleep and drink, was that his life now? Whatever happened to visiting the world's natural wonders, or trying all the chili dog recipes in existence? Sonic shook his head as he opened the front door, where he was greeted with the sight of Tails storing away groceries in the kitchen. 

"Hey," Sonic remarked casually, closing the rusty door behind him.

"Hey," Tails repeated back as he set the last of the apples into their bowl. "How you feeling?"

"OK," Sonic replied. "How long you been here?"

"Just got here," Tails retorted. "How long have you been out there in the sun?"

"Uh..." Sonic started, closing his eyes to think. "When did you leave?"

"A few hours ago."

"Then that's when I must've gone to sleep."

Tails smirked as he sat down in a chair near the kitchen table. 

"I figured," the fox chuckled to himself. "Next time, put on some sunscreen before you fall asleep, OK?"

"OK, OK," Sonic laughed, raising his hands in mock defense. "When did you become such a worry-wart, man?"

"Sorry," Tails sighed contently. "I don't mean anything by it."

"I know you don't," Sonic exclaimed, sitting down in a kitchen chair and putting his chin in his hands. "So, what's the scoop in town?"

"Not much," Tails began, cracking his knuckles as he did so. "There's apparently a new Chao in Space hitting theaters soon."

"God, that series was old news a long time ago!" Sonic exclaimed while at the same time mentally chastising himself for using that word again.

"I know, right?" Tails agreed. "Still, maybe a trip to town wouldn't be a bad idea. Would be good for you to get out of the house."

"Wow, Tails, since we did you become my mother?" Sonic replied frostily. 

"Sorry," Tails whispered. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"I know, I know..." Sonic began before he was interrupted by another pain in his leg. As he moved his hand to rub it gently, Tails' worried expression only worsened.

"The leg, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sonic answered. 

Wordlessly, Tails got out of his seat and walked over to Sonic, putting his arms around his ailing brother and lifting him up with ease. Sonic never let it show, but he was always slightly jealous of Tails' growth spurt: he knew that, being a fox, he was eventually grow bigger, but that didn't make it any less embarrassing when his "little" brother picked him up like a baby.

While Sonic was internally pouting, Tails meanwhile had made his way over to the workshop's makeshift living room, where he put the hedgehog on the sole couch. After propping up Sonic's leg with a pillow, the fox turned his attention to the television, turning it on as he sat down in his comforter.

"In other news," the blonde lady on the TV began. "Tomorrow marks the start of Station Square's Radiant Emerald Boxing Tournament. The tournament, which has been an annual fixture of the city for the past 25 years, has already sold out..."

"Speaking of things getting old," Sonic suddenly interjected, his eyes closed and his arms behind his head.

"Oh, hush," Tails replied with a smirk. "It's for charity."

"Numerous celebrity boxers are scheduled to fight tomorrow," the news lady continued. "But perhaps none are more anticipated than Amy Rose, former world hero. Miss Rose, of course, was a key figure in the struggle against Dr. Eggman, the mad scientist who terrorized our planet for years until his defeat at the hands of Sonic the Hedgehog..."

"Look, you're on the news," Tails joked.

"Yippee," Sonic stated blankly.

"Miss Rose will of course be fighting for her charity, the Global Self-Defense Initiative," the news woman started. "And although this studio is supposed to be stay unbiased at all times, I would like to personally wish the pink heroine the best of luck!"

"Journalism sure has hit the pits, huh, Tails?" Sonic sarcastically remarked.

"Well, I thought it was sweet," Tails defended. "And besides, it gave me an idea."

"And that is?" Sonic questioned, opening a single eye to glare at the fox.

"We should go to the tournament tomorrow!" Tails exclaimed.

"One problem, bro," Sonic began, closing his eyes again and holding up an index finger in the air. "The gig is sold out."

"I'm sure the people of Station Square can afford to put out some extra chairs for their hero," Tails countered.

"Their hero 25 years ago, maybe," Sonic sighed. 

"Don't talk like that," Tails insisted. "People love you, Sonic!"

"If you say so," Sonic conceded.

"And besides, don't you wanna see Amy? It's been so long since the last time we saw her, or the rest of the gang for that matter..."

Sonic was silent.

"Sonic?" Tails whispered.

"... I don't know, man," Sonic finally began. "Do you really think she'd want us there ruining her big day?"

Tails smiled softly.

"I think she's waited long enough for you to show up, to be honest."

"...Alright, fine," Sonic finally exclaimed. "I'm gonna need another drink, though."

"Sure thing, bro," Tails replied with a grin.

As Tails headed into the kitchen, Sonic turned to the television, where the news channel was replaying clips from the last Radiant Emerald tournament. Eventually, Amy's image showed up, and that's when a lump formed in his throat. It was true what Tails said: it had been way too long since he'd seen any of the old gang. But then again, maybe that was for the better. After all, who would want to hang out with a useless old man like himself?

"Sonic," Tails suddenly interrupted, another cocktail in his hand. "You OK, man?"

Sonic, however, didn't move, never breaking eye contact with the television.


	2. Radiant

As a rebellious child stuck in island country, Sonic had naturally been attracted to loud music, the kind that made his neighbors mad when he blasted it on speaker in the early hours of the night. It didn't matter the genre, as long as it was abrasive and uncouth and probably not appropriate for a growing young hedgehog. As the years sped by, Sonic continued to listen to such music, but he couldn't help noticing a slight tingling and the sound of a distant beep in his ears. Then, after Eggman's final defeat and at Tails' insistence, he had his hearing checked out, and that's when he learned that he, Sonic the Hedgehog, great hero, had developed tinnitus, an ailment that the doctors assured him was quite common for individuals his age and fairly easy to treat.

 

Of course, most people who received the same diagnosis also weren't running from explosions while chasing killer badniks, so Sonic was a bit of a special exemption from the norm. Still, "individuals his age?" How much more demeaning could you get! He was still just as young and spry as ever, even if his leg ached every time he shifted in his seat and he heard ringing in his ears. If anything, all Sonic learned from this experience was to never got to the doctor's again.

That said, however, he would gladly take a dry waiting room over his current situation. Just like he said before, the tournament was already completely booked when Tails made a call to the organizers requesting some tickets. Sonic hoped and prayed that they would just tell the fox no, but unwilling to lose the public support of two of the world's former heroes, they instead put the duo on some leftover lawn chairs near the front row, a camera pointed in their direction at all times. If Sonic knew this was the price he'd have to pay for saving the world, he'd have let Eggman take over a long time ago.

Still, sitting near the ring had its perks, as he had a clear view of the fight. Amy clearly hadn't stopped training since the old days, he thought as he watched her lift a rather large albatross over her head and slam him onto the ground. His fellow competitors, a green hawk and a purple swallow, were in equally bad shape against Amy's teammates, a newly remodeled Gemerl and a surprisingly vicious Cream the Rabbit.

As the albatross lay sprawled on the floor, the swallow and the hawk began fighting over the white surrender towel. Soon enough, the swallow won and the towel was tossed, ending the match and signalling the crowd to began chanting, "Team Rose! Team Rose!" After helping the albatross to his feet and shaking hands with his teammates, Amy quickly snatched the victory trophy from the boxing announcer and held it over her head, which further encouraged the crowd. Sonic was about to get up and leave to alleviate the pain in his ears, but then Amy held her index finger to her lips and the crowd volume softened to silence. The announcer handed her a microphone, and she began to speak.

"Well, that went a bit too quickly for my taste, but still, let's give a big hand to the Babylon Rogues for another great performance!"

Applause broke out, prompting the Rogues to wave towards their fans. Once the crowd had settled down, she continued speaking.

"That said, I've worked up quite an appetite. Cream, wouldn't you agree?"

"Oh, yes, Amy!" Cream pipped in cheerfully, all the aggressiveness from before completely gone in her tone and posture. "I could definitely go for some food!"

"Gemerl?" Amy directed to her robot companion, who simply gave a thumbs up.

"Well, then," she began again. "Let's head over to our favorite Station Square establishment! We'll see you all at Club Rouge!"

Amid the overwhelming cheers, the pink hedgehog tossed the mic back to the announcer and began skipping down the steps of the ring, her pony-tailed quills bobbing as she descended into a sea of wailing fans. It was a good look for her, Sonic contemplated, the messy pony tail and the bright red sports shorts and the white tank top. He couldn't think of a time he'd seen her less radiant, and if he was being honest with himself, he didn't want to see her any other way.

Before he could fully process what he was thinking, however, he was interrupted by a giant bear hug.

"SONIC!" Amy squealed. "I wasn't expecting to see you today!"

"Surprise," Sonic managed to stutter out as Amy squeezed him harder. He'd gotten used to a certain intensity from her hugs over the years, but this was a little much even for him.

"Hey!" A voice suddenly called out from the direction of the ring. Both Amy and Sonic turned to see the green hawk leaning against the railing. 

"Good fight, Rose," He proclaimed, flashing her a toothy grin.

"Thanks, Jet!" Amy replied cheerfully. "Are you guys gonna meet us at the club?"

"Probably not," Jet answered back. "Storm's not feeling well."

"Oh, no!" Amy cried. "I hope I wasn't too hard on him?"

"Nah," Jet chuckled. "It's his pride that's broke, not his back. Me and Wave will have him back to normal in a few days, though."

"Oh, that's good!" Amy sighed, relieved. "Well, tell him and Wave I said hi!"

"Will do, Rose," Jet confirmed, smiling again as he left with the rest of his team.

"Well," Tails spoke up. "Good to see they're doing OK."

"And it's so good to see you two" Amy exclaimed, releasing a nearly asphyxiated Sonic to latch onto his brother instead. "It's been so long since I saw you guys last!"

"Well, it has been, what, three years since the last reunion?" Tails pondered aloud as Amy's hug slowly drained the life out of him. "Wouldn't you say so, Sonic?"

"You're the expert, Tails," Sonic replied, a hint of snark in his voice.

"Amy," Cream suddenly chimed in, poking at Amy's shoulder. "Don't you think we ought to get to Rouge's? Traffic's going to be heinous tonight, after all."

"Oh, right!" Amy realized, letting go of Tails in the process. "Well, come on, gang! Let's go party!"

Great, Sonic thought to himself. More noise, now with extra drunkenness! Good thing he hadn't met anyone who could read thoughts yet.

"Sonic," Tails interrupted his brother's thoughts. "You OK?"

Sonic in turn managed to twist his frown into a grin.

"Yeah, I'm good, Tails," he remarked. "Think you could help me up?"

"Sure, Sonic-" Tails began before being cut off by Amy.

"Oh!" She squeaked. "Let me, Sonic!"

Before either Sonic or Tails could protest, the pink hedgehog had wrapped a meaty arm around Sonic's torso and lifted him off the ground. She then ever so gingerly set him down on the ground, good leg first.

"...Thanks, Amy," a visibly embarrassed Sonic muttered.

"No problem!" The woman in question chirped. "Gotta put these muscles of mine to good use! Now, come on, everyone! To Club Rouge!"

With that, Amy wrapped an arm around Sonic's and practically dragged him out of the arena and into the night, the rest of the party following close behind.


	3. Drinking

 

Everyone, from admiring strangers to close friends, always figured that Sonic's first drink was at Club Rouge, following the final defeat of Eggman and the subsequent long night of partying. Sonic himself went along with this narrative, for the truth was a lot less virtuous. No, Sonic would never tell anyone, not even Tails, that he first tasted alcohol back on his home island, when he was around 12 years old, at the insistence of people he once called friends. 

"Come on," they told him, their faces twisted into sneers. "Don't you wanna be cool like us? Then try some of my old man's beer!"

Being the gullible, insecure kid he was at the time, Sonic reluctantly took a sip from the glass bottle. It tasted foul, but despite his conscious pleading him to just spit it out and run away, he rolled his head back and let the poison slide down his throat.

Naturally, Sonic didn't talk to those people anymore. In fact, he hadn't been back to that puny little island since he ran away all those years ago. But every time he took a shot nowadays to cope with the aching pain in his leg or his head, he remembered their snickering as he coughed, and he silently blamed them for his current miserable state.

Still, no one needed to know that Sonic the Hedgehog, beloved icon, was an alcoholic, and so he went along with the Club Rouge story. It's not like Rouge herself, or anyone else for that matter, tried to disprove this false narrative: in fact, on a shelf near the club's front entrance sat the shot glass that Sonic had supposedly taken his first drink from, plaque commemorating the night and everything. Why disappoint everyone looking up to him with the truth, Sonic rationalized?

That said, he would've appreciated a little less noise tonight. The ringing in his ears hadn't gone down on the bumpy taxi ride over to Rouge's, and sitting right next to the DJ station wasn't helping. Sonic contemplated retiring to the bathroom several times, but Tails' constant side-eyed glances every time his brother shifted on the plush bar stool kept the hedgehog from doing so. 

"Sonic," Amy suddenly spoke up with an audible pout.

"Yeah?" Sonic shot back without looking up from his current chili dog.

"Don't you know what all those things do to your digestive tract?" she giggled.

"Never had a problem with it before," he shrugged in response.

"You've never eaten five plates of chili dogs in one sitting before!"

Sonic smiled at the pink hedgehog and winked.

"First time for everything, Amy. Thanks for keeping track."

"She's not the only one," a sultry voice suddenly exclaimed to Sonic's left. The blue hedgehog swiveled around in his seat to lock eyes with a woman in a light blue bodysuit, a devious smile spread over her painted lips.

"Hey, Rouge," he remarked nonchalantly. "Long time no see."

"Long time indeed," Rouge chuckled, her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face."The last reunion was, what, two years ago?"

"Something like that," Sonic said as he took another bite from his dog.

"ROUGE!" Amy cried, quickly getting out of her chair and running to the other woman. "It's so good to see you!"

"Good to see you too, Amy dear," Rouge said patiently as Amy wrapped her large arms around the bat's waist and lifted her into the air. "Saw your whole performance on the television and my, what a show!"

"Gee, thanks, Rouge!" Amy chirped as she slowly set the older woman down. "Did you see Cream and Gemerl, too?"

"But of course," Rouge said as she turned to the rabbit and robot a little ways down the bar. "Great job all around, you two!"

"Thank you, Rouge!" Cream answered back, while Gemerl waved behind her to the bat woman.

"Cream, dear," Rouge started again. "Do you think you could stand up for a minute, so I can see exactly how tall you've gotten? You too, Tails!"  
Both the fox and the rabbit complied, causing a fit of laughter to spring from the figure in blue.

"My, my!" Rouge exclaimed as her laughing subsided. "I remember when I used to tower over you two, and now look at you!"

As Tails tried to cover his oh-so-subtle blush, a smile tore across Cream's face, and she put her hands to her cheeks.

"Oh, thank you so much!" she squealed. "You look very pretty tonight yourself!"

"Thank you, dear!" the older woman replied, twirling slightly to show off her outfit. "I had this made just yesterday!"

"It suits you so well, Rouge!" Amy added. "You gotta tell me who your tailor is!"

"Of course, dear," Rouge responded. "But first, I need your help with something."

"Oh?" Amy asked. "What's up?"

Rouge in turn cleared her throat and clapped her hands, prompting a purple weasel standing near the bar to approach her.

"Nack, be a dear and have Bark fetch the children, will you?" Rouge whispered into the weasel's ear once he was within hearing range.

"Sure thing, ma'am," the weasel obliged with a toothy grin before running off towards the back rooms of the club.

"You bring your kids here, Rouge?" Sonic joked as he took another shot of booze.

"Oh, hush!" Rouge chuckled in return."All the children back at the orphanage can't get enough of Team Rose, and I figured the mighty heroes would have to come by to grab a drink!"

"Rouge, it's so good what you do for those kids," Amy remarked.

"Oh, thank you, dear," Rouge beamed. "It really is no trouble at all."

Just then, a large yellowish polar bear appeared out of one of the club's back rooms, a horde of children of varying ages surrounding him. At first, the orphans were content to pull on the bear's appendages and clothes, but then one of the smaller kids noticed who exactly was standing by "Miss" Rouge.

"It's Team Rose!!" The child cried at the top of his lungs, and he and the other kids quickly abandoned the bear in favor of running across the dance floor to their idols, recklessly bumping into couples in the process. Soon enough, Sonic and friends were surrounding at all angles, each of Rouge's children clamoring to get a look at their favorite heroes.

"Children!" Rouge exclaimed quite loudly as she clapped her hands together again. "Let's form a line, please!"

"Yes, ma'am," the kids responded on cue as they pushed and shoved each other to be first in line. Meanwhile, Rouge cleared her throat once more and motioned with her hand at a green duck sitting a little ways down the bar, watching the commotion.

"Please tell the kitchen to send the cake and punch out, will you, Bean, dear?" she called to him.

The duck winked in return, and headed into the double doors behind the counter. Once the orphans had formed a suitable line, Rouge bent down so she could speak to the tiny girl who had managed to get first place.

"Now, sweetie," she chirped. "What do you want to say to Miss Rose and her friends?"

"You are very cool and I like you very much and I liked when you threw that guy onto the floor," the child replied slowly in Amy's direction.

"Oh, thank you so much!" Amy squealed. "That means so much to me, I can't possibly thank you enough!"

"You're welcome, Miss Rose," the kid whispered as Rouge patted her back.

"Very nice, dear," Rouge congratulated. "Now, who's next?"

And that's how the rest of the night at Club Rouge went: after each and every child had a chance to say a few words to the former heroes, everyone in the club, regardless of age, was handed a slice of cake and a plastic cup filled with some sort of fruit juice. Sonic accepted these items just like everyone else, but while he quickly scarfed down the cake, the punch sat neglected on the bar until a voice from behind snapped him back from the brink of sleep.

"Sonic?" Rouge quietly exclaimed. "You alright, hon?"

"Oh, hey, Rouge," Sonic replied hastily. "Yeah, I'm good. Liked the cake."

"Oh, good," the bat breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad we got it done in time."

"Yeah, definitely," Sonic replied. 

"Have you had anything to drink, though?" Rouge suddenly asked. "You've got a lot of punch left."

"Oh, the punch," Sonic realized, picking up the cup that held the drink and sniffing it slightly. "Yeah, sugary drinks aren't really my thing anymore..."

"Need something a little stronger, then?" The woman interrupted.

"... Yeah, I guess," the hedgehog conceded, prompting Rouge to go around the counter and grab a bottle from the wine rack.

"Here we go," she said with a grin. "One of my favorites. A good year, too."

As she reached for Sonic's shot glass, however, the hedgehog spoke up.

"Actually," he began. "Can you, uh, just get me a water instead?"

"You OK, dear?" Rouge whispered.

"Yeah, it's just," Sonic stammered. "I've been thinking, and um..."

"Yeah?" 

"It's just... well, I gotta set a good example for the kids, right?" Sonic finally blurted out.

Rouge smiled softly again.

"Of course, blue," she agreed, taking Sonic's glass and filling it with sparkling water.


	4. Home

If there was one thing that Sonic the Hedgehog needed more than anything else, it was his personal freedom. Now, it wasn't that he was afraid by closeness with others, like some of his critics or even some well-meaning pals had told him. Instead, it had more to do with how, in his youth, he hated being swaddled by those he once considered loved ones, or pushed around by those he once considered close friends. That was at least part of the reason he ran away to begin with, the other part being a natural instinct for adventuring and exploration.

Nowadays, that inquisitive fire in Sonic's gut had long since simmered down, replaced instead with an ache in his bones and a desire for sleep. His need for space, however, stuck around like a stubborn flea on an old dog, and as a result he was often accused of being grumpy or distant by those both near and far from him. Maybe that's why he had stopped helping Tails organize the reunions these last couple of years: he just didn't have the temperament to entertain anymore. And after all, wasn't that all he ever was - the evening news' latest batch of entertainment?

So when Club Rouge finally closed for the night and Cream offered to continue the party at her mother's place, Sonic was't exactly pleased. It was getting late, and that nature documentary he'd been waiting to see for a while now was airing. At the same time, though, he hadn't seen Tails smile this much in a while, and so Sonic once again grit his teeth and piled into another cab for another bumpy car ride. Gee, he thought to himself, how did the roads in Station Square get WORSE after the Perfect Chaos renovations? 

That said, while the move to the outskirts of the city was cramped and uncomfortable, at least the view was nice. Somehow Station Square had avoided the suburban rot that clogged Central City, and Sonic found it somewhat relaxing to watch empty plot after plot breeze by as the cab moved a brisk place. Almost made him feel like he was running again. Almost. 

Similarly, Sonic was also relieved to see the Rabbit residence relatively untouched. The rock step stone, the herb garden, the slight pink tinge to the bricks of the small, thatched-roof house - it was all the same, and Sonic found himself grinning softly with delight as Amy and Tails helped him out of the car and down the oh-so familiar path.

Of course, nostalgia can also be blinding, and as such, Sonic was quite taken aback when someone other than Vanilla answered the door.

"Well, hey there, Sonic!" the always recognizable voice of Vector the Crocodile rang in the blue hedgehog's ears. "How's it been, my dude?"

"Uh..." Sonic began, confusion setting over his face. "It's been cool... dude?"

"Good, good!" Vector replied happily. "Well, come on in, gang! Vanilla's just about done with the sweets!"

"Oh, honey," Rouge groaned. "If I eat any more sugar, I'm gonna burst!"

"Aw, Rouge! Don't be such a party pooper!!" Amy butted in. "Now come on, guys, what are we doing out here? Let's keep this party going!"

With that, Amy took Sonic's arm and led him past Vector into the dimly lit living room, which was not what any one was expecting from the quaint cottage.

"Hey, what gives?" Vector proclaimed. "Drat, it must be that bad wire again-"

Before he could finish his sentence, however, the lights flickered back on and in place of the darkness stood a swarm of assorted badniks, packing the small room to the brim in every direction!

"WOAH!" Sonic reacted swiftly, a terrified look on his face as he put his arms up in defense of his friends. Maybe when he was younger, he'd welcome a challenge, but not now, and not this many-!

"Sonic?" the voice of Tails suddenly spoke up. "You gonna let us in?"

"But there's-! That's a-!" Sonic shot back as he pointed at a particularly rusty-looking Motobug, who in turn cowered behind another robot.

"Oh, Buggy, it's OK," Cream pipped up as she pushed past Sonic and picked up the diminutive robot, cradling it in her arms. "You're OK, dear. Mister Sonic is just a little frightened, that's all."

"A little?!!" Sonic shrieked, his fear giving way to confusion and anger. "That's a killing machine you're holding, Cream!!"

"They don't really like that word, Mister Sonic..." Cream whispered while 'Buggy' put two pinchers over their eyes in distress. 

"But..." Sonic said as he felt Amy pass by him to join Cream by the assorted badniks. "They're... evil... HE made them..."

"Oh, for the love of Gaia," Rouge muttered, rolling her eyes in the process.

"Well, they are!!" Sonic shouted in her direction. "A-and they've got our little friends in them-!"

"Except they don't!" Rouge shot back, a haughty smirk on her lips. "Cream here found a way to reverse engineer how they convert energy! Tails, didn't you tell him already?!"

"I did, a long time ago," the fox confirmed with an air of disappointment. "Sorry about this, gang..."

"W-wait, what?" Sonic began, his eyes turning to lock with his brother's. "Tails, you never..."

"I-It was actually quite simple, Miss Rouge," Cream interrupted with a slight blush as she opened the top hatch on Buggy, revealing a shining Power Rings within the bot. "Of course, I wouldn't have been able to do it without Tails or Mister Shadow..."

"Oh, dear, don't sell yourself short!" Rouge interrupted with a giggle. "You were the one who first proposed that these guys were sentient to begin with!"

"Well, that was kind of obvious," Cream kindly retorted. "Gemerl and Mister Omega are so nice, after all..."

As she and the bat continued conversing, Sonic took the time to take a longer look at the Motobug Cream was holding. The exterior of the bot had definitely seen better days: the paint had almost completely rusted off, leaving nothing but a brownish-gray color behind. One of Buggy's eyes was also either missing completely or corroded to the point of uselessness, and there was a distinct sound of a bad motor coming from the bot's hull. In fact, most of the other badniks seemed to be worse for wear, and he slowly felt a sort of sad nostalgia wash over him. Then, a voice broke through his thoughts.

"Sonic?" Vector said as he gently laid a hand on the hedgehog's shoulder. "If it's too much for you right now, we understand."

Gingerly, the frown on Sonic's face melted away, replaced by a reserved grin.

"No, it's OK, Vec," he replied. "Tails probably did tell me, and I just forgot..."

"I DID tell you!" the fox interrupted with an audible pout. "How is it my fault you don't listen?"

"Alright, alright, don't push it, bud," Sonic chuckled, amused at how easy it was to get a rise out of his brother. "Now, come on, all this talking and standing around is making me hungry!"

"That's right!" another voice suddenly erupted from the dining area, prompting everyone to turn to the ever-calm Vanilla. "Vector, will you and the bots help me pass out the snacks?"

"Of course, sugar!" Vector responded eagerly, clapping his hands in the process. "Come on. gang, follow me!"

"Right behind ya, dude," Sonic said with a smile, and soon enough everyone had filed into the kitchen area, leaving behind the air of suspicion from earlier in favor of the good food and homey smells that always arose when Vanilla made sweets. So, Sonic concluded, this must be what it’s like to be at home.


End file.
